President of the Tunisian National Olympic Committee (CNOT), Mehrez Boussayène, said at the closing ceremony of the African Beach Games (Hammamet-2023) on Friday that "Tunisia has met the challenge of organising the Games.»
"In spite of all the difficulties we encountered, we managed to prepare the organisation of this major sporting event in five months, welcome delegations from 54 countries and the work of the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, and organise the Olympic Day on June 23, in the presence of representatives of all the African Olympic Committees, members of the International Olympic Committee and international and Olympic personalities," said Boussayène.
This second edition was also an opportunity to promote Tunisia as a destination and the organisation was excellent, according to all the participants and observers who followed this sporting event closely," said Boussayène.
This organisational success was matched by sporting success, as the results achieved by the Tunisian athletes exceeded all expectations, with 13 gold medals, the same number of silver medals and 14 bronze medals, a much better result than the first edition in Cape Verde (only 3 gold medals).
Boussayène added: "Tunisia has once again shown that it is a welcoming country with deep roots in its African environment. The President of the CNOT said he was proud of the Olympic legacy that the Hammamet-2023 Games will leave behind, such as the Olympic Garden in Nabeul, where the statue of the mascot of the Games, "Yoyo", has been installed. It will now be a destination for tourists and visitors to the city, a way of perpetuating these Games, he said.
He added that the beach games would become more widespread in Tunisia and a sport that would be better represented in sports federations, which would increase Tunisia's chances of bidding for the organisation of the Mediterranean Games or the World Games.
"The impressive success of the Hammamet Games has shown that Tunisia, despite the difficulties, is still capable of meeting the challenge of organising major sporting events, thanks to the joint efforts of all the parties involved," Boussayene stressed.
He praised the role of the media in the success of these Games, saying that "the partnership with TAP news agency has been fruitful and has demonstrated the media's ability to promote this major event".
The second edition of the African Beach Games, which ended on Friday in the tourist resort of Yasmine Hammamet, was attended by some 2,300 guests, including athletes, coaches, technicians, referees and media representatives.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse